FIRST CASE OF PARATUBERCULOSIS IN CATTLE IN BULGARIA, ESTABLISHED BY MODERN DIAGNOSTIC METHODS

T. Savova, I. Petkov, A. Dimitrova, R. Petrova, V. Manov, N. Lalkovski, S. Ivanova, S. Atanasova, D. Kazachka

Abstract: Paratuberculosis is a chronic granulomatous enteritis with vaguely clinical signs. Diagnosis of the disease is very difficult and long due to the lack of uniform diagnostic methods that can be used to detect both forms of infection – clinical and subclinical. The discovery of subclinical infected animals is essential for disease control on farms nationally and internationally. The official veterinary medical statistics in Bulgaria lacks accurate data on the prevalence of the disease in animals because of it clinical manifestation. By using modern methods it was demonstrated persistence of the infection in wild ruminants in Bulgaria. The question of transmission of the agent between wild and domestic ruminants sharpen our attention for further research. A year ago it was reported cases of paratuberculosis in cattle from Northeastern Bulgaria. The disease was established based on history, clinical- morphological manifestations, histological and microscopic examination. This year, a case of paratuberculosis was described by us of cattle in western Bulgaria. Identified and described were pathoanatomical lesions of paratuberculosis. The microscopic examination of the pathologically changed small intestines were observed typical mycobacteria. In a normal PCR it was demonstrated the presence of DNA from M. avium, ssp. paratuberculosis.

Keywords: cattle; Mycobacterium avium ssp. рaratuberculosis; PCR

Date published: 2017-11-10